WE’LL ENSURE EVERY CHILD IS IMMUNISED – OGSG

ABEOKUTA – Ogun State government has said that it is committed to ensuring every child is immunised against preventable infections and diseases, as it begins Routine Immunisation Intensification Programme (RIIP) and Integrated Medical Outreach Programme (IMOP).

The Executive Secretary, Primary Health Care Development Board, Dr. Elijah Ogunsola made this known in a chat with newsmen in Abeokuta, saying that health interventions were aimed at covering gaps of unimmunised children and those that were unable to complete their Routine Immunisation (RI), due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

Ogunsola added that the RIIP intervention scheduled, would be carried out in 10 Local Government Areas namely; Abeokuta North, Abeokuta South, Ewekoro, Ifo, Ijebu-East, Ijebu North-East, Ijebu-Ode, Ikenne, Odogbolu and Remo North, while the Integrated Medical Outreach Programme (IMOP), holds between Monday, 16 and Friday, November 20, 2020, at Ado-Odo/Ota, Imeko, Ipokia, Ijebu-North, Odeda, Obafemi Owode, Ogun Waterside, Sagamu, Yewa North and Yewa South.

He further said that IMOP was a Federal Goverment initiative to mop up identified low routine immunisation performing LGAs across the country, with a complementary effort of the State Government to carry out RIIP.
Contributing, the State Immunisation Officer, Dr. Suraj Olayinka stated that government in collaboration with United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), decided to capture eligible children that had missed RI schedule in aforementioned LGAs.

He explained that the programmes would commence with health centres conducting one outreach per week for three months, noting that interventions such as Routine Immunisation, Vitamin A supplementation, Nutritional Check, Deworming, HIV/ AIDS counselling and testing, as well as Family Planning services would be provided.

The medical expert enjoined mothers and caregivers to take advantage of government’s investment in health, to get their children and wards immunised in all public health facilities across the State at no cost.